Bag-jaw fastener.



R. L. PRAHAR.

BAG JAW FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1916.

Patented July 4, 1916.

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f Specileaitirony of Letters Patent.

Patented July d, 1916.

Application med Maron 3, i916. 'serial No. 81,806.

To all whom it may concern: f f

Be it known that I, ROBERT L. Pmi-IAR, a citizen of the United States,.and resident of Massapequa, in theycounty of Nassau and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bag-J aw Fasteners, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to fasteners `for hand-bags, satchels, pocketbooks and other like articles, having pivoted frames'or jaws separated to permit access to be gained to the interior. In the ordinary constructions, the jaws 'or frames are liable to accidentally spring open and permit the contents to `be lost or surreptitiously removed, in case the bag is too full, the spring of the fastener is ,too weak, or the fastener becomesbent or worn. V arious attempts have been made to x: prevent this accidental opening of thebagby providing auxiliary or supplemental fastening devices. Someof these are so expensive as to render them kvii'npractical, others are too diiicult to operate, and others,which involve two separate and independent fasteners, do not materially add to the safety as each is independently liable to become disengaged. In my improved construction, I provide ya fastening device which `may be similar in most respects to otherslnow in use and inconnection therewith, I provide `an auxiliary fastener adapted to engage with the first mentioned fastener and positively hold the former in locking position. i Preferably, the main fastener ispivoted. and held in place by a springas inwthexordinary construction, while the second is pivoted about an outwardly extending, substantially horizontal pivot and has ahandle kpivoted thereto. The fastening devices are carried by separate frame members ,andL the handle whiclifis pivoted 4to the auxiliaryy fastener normally depends therefrom seas to act by gravity and prevent the auxiliary fastener from moving to inoperative position. The handle may lalso be swung out away from the frame and grasped in oneliand while the main fastening member is graspedy yinthe other hand to facilitate theopening ,of the bag. The auxiliary fastener must be positively'rotatedthrough a considerable arc before the main fastener can bek released, and as gravity acting lon the pivoted handle normally prevents it from swinging, it will be seen that the main fastener cannot be disengaged by any pressure from the interior of the bag. Y

- `My invention may be incorporated in various different forms and thereforeI do not desire to be limited to any specific details and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings. I desire these to be Y y considered merely 1n an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense.

- In these drawings, to which reference is to be had and in `which similar reference numerals indicate corresponding parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a central vertical section; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion similar to Fig. but showing the auxiliary fastener moved to unlocking or releasing position; Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 2, but showing another form which my invention may assume;

and Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but

showing the construction of Fig.l 4.

In the specific construction illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 there are employed two frame or jaw members l() and 11 connected at their ends V.by pivots 12, Each is of substantially -U-shape in cross section and may have anyv suitable means for holding the wallsy of the bag withinthe channels. The construction of the frames and their pivotal connections form no portion of my present u 2 invention.

On one of the frame members, for instance'the member 11, I provide a pivoted fastening member which may be constructed and mounted in various ways. As illus- ,n

trated, it includes a cup-shaped piece 13 with a tongue or loop 14 projecting through a slot ,in the top wall of the frame 11 and receiving a torsion spring 15 within the loop.

lThe cup extends across the top walls of both L. B. `Pra-har Patent No. 1,143,226, issued .f June 15, 1915. Although I have shown the cup-shaped member 13 engaging with 'an upwardly extending stud 16, it is evident that the cup, which is pivoted to the member 11, may interlock withthe frame member 1Q, or

a part thereon', in any ksuitable manner to insure the holding together of the frame members when this main fastenin device'ise readilyY in operative position. It may disengaged by pressing the knob upwardly and toward the right Vfrom the position shown in4 F ig.2 so that it will swing aboutv catch or projection so as normally' to positively prevent the upward' and backward swinging of the main fastening device.V In they specicform illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, this auxiliary lock or' fastener includes a stud or pivot 19 riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the side wall ofA the frame member 10 and projecting outwardly substantially at right angles to the general plane of the frame. Mounted to turn onthis` pivot is a member 20 having' a tongue or hook portion 21 which may extend over and engage with the upper side of the tongue or projection 18. As a simple and inexpensive method of forming this member 20, it may be stamped from sheet metal so that the body portion thereof is substantially hemiispherieal while the tongue 2i projects from one edge thereof. With the members in the position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2", the main fastening member cannot be disengaged'. For normally holding' it in this position, facilitating its movement to inoperative or unlocking position, and vfor facilitating the separation ofthe jaws or frames, I pivotally connect a handle memberv22 to the catch or fastener member 20'. As shown the handle has oppositely disposed, inwardly directed pivot portions 23 which extend into Opposite walls of they member 20 so that the handle, when in normal position, hangs down substantially vertically. The action of gravity' on this handle tendsf to prevent the Yfastening member 20 Vfrom rotating about the pivot 19 and therefore holds" the parts 18 and 21 in coperating relationship. The handley may be employed to turn the member 20 about the pivot 19fto1 such an extent that the tongue or projection 21 will no longer lie above the part 18v as is' shown in Fig; 3. If desired, the handle may also be swung about the pivots 23; sovas kto extend outwardly from the frame, and either before or after being swung to this position, may be employed forV rotating the member 20. When the handle 22 is` grasped in one hand and the knob 17 in the other, the member 20 Y may rst be rotated and then the knob swung upwardly and the frames separated. The handle thus serves as a weight to act by gravity Vand hold the auxiliary fastener in place; as a means for rotating the member vdepending position and re-locks the main fastener, itis evident that the bag cannot very well bef-opened by the use ofone hand alone and thus it is more diiiicult for a person to open the bag to remove its contents without attracting theV attention of the owner. In case the member 20 be rotatedV through a half revolution so'that the part 21 extends downwardly' instead" Vof upwardly, the handle 22Jwill engage with the top of the part 21 and will proj ect outwardly at an angle to the plane of the frame, and the facti that it does not lie down smooth against the side of the frame, may be noticed at once by the owner, and thus it serves as a warning that the auxiliary lock is not in proper position.

A further embodiment of my invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Here, the principle of operating is the same although the details of construction are somewhat different.V rlhe main fastening member isv made of a rectangularl cup 135r1 of suiiicient. height to avoid the necessityv for a separateknob or handle thereon.` Instead of having one edge provided with a lip or projection as inFigs. 1', 2v and 3, a portion of the side wall of the cup-shaped casing is.y struckoutwardlyv to form a ledge or projection 18a', theupper surface of which ymay be, and preferablyl is, curved in: an arc, the: center of which is the l axis ofthe pivot 19a'. This' pifvot'may be wal-l of the frame 10. The member 2()EL may t have. a tongue or extension 21a which extends upwardly and terminates inv a flange lying above the ledge or shoulder 18a; Ar further description. of the construction and operati'onlappears to be unnecessary. l

Having thus'y described my invention, what claim asl'new and desire to secure by Letters, Patent is I 1. In combination, a pair of frame members, a fastenerpivoted to one member and adapted to engage with the other member to holdV said members` together, and an auxiliary fastener pivoted to the side of the other frame member and normally preventing the disengagement of the first mentioned fastener, said' second? mentionedfastenerl having depending gravity operating meansy for normally retainingy it in operative posit-ion.

2. The combination with a pairof frames, of a member carriedv by one frame extending across the upper surface and projecting beyond the other frame, and a fastener pivoted to thel side of the second mentioned frame and rotatable about an outwardly extending, substantially horizontal pivot, said fastener having means for engaging with said memizo of a member carried by one frame extending across the upper surface and. projecting beyond the other frame, andl a fastener pivoted to the side of the second mentioned frame and rotatable about an outwardly exe tending, substantially horizontal pivot, said fastener having means for engaging with said member to prevent movement of the latter in respect to the second mentioned frame and having a handle pivoted thereto and depending therefrom lto normally prevent accidental rotation of said fastener.

4. The combination with a pair of frames, of a fastener pivoted to one frame to move about an axis extending in the general direction of the frame and adapted to engage with the other frame to hold the frames together, and a second fastener carried by the other frame and pivoted to move about an axis substantially at right angles to the plane of the frame and adapted to engage With the first mentioned fastener to normally prevent movement of the latter.

5. The combination With a pair of frames, of a fastener carried by yone frame and adapted to engage With the other to hold the frames together, an outwardly extending pivot carried by the other frame on the outer side thereof, a member mounted on said pivot and having a projecting portion adapted to engage with said fastener, and a handle pivoted to said member and nor mally depending therefrom to act by gravity and prevent accidental rotation of said member and serving as means for the positive rotation of said member and the disengagement of said projecting portion from said fastener.

Signed at Brooklyn in the county of Kings and State of New York, this 1st day of March, A. D. 1916. Y

ROBERT L, PRAHAR.

Witness:

F. L. Coon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

